Nearly $2.6B: See all the KY projects where McConnell secured federal money

Sen. Mitch McConnell has heralded 2026 as the most lucrative year for Kentucky when it comes to federally-funded project appropriations.

The biggest-ticket items are continued work on the decommissioning and repurposing of the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond as well as the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site.

The total, per McConnell’s office, is nearly $2.6 billion.

Though military and defense projects are the splashiest, some of the funds McConnell shepherded to Kentucky affect high-priority local issues.

Martin County, an Eastern Kentucky community whose water and wastewater issues have been well-documented, got $4.8 million for wastewater treatment improvements. McCreary County got $11 million for “economic revitalization.” Covington received $4.5 million to help with its ongoing redevelopment of a massive former IRS site downtown. Barren County received $20 million for an agriculture exposition center. Owensboro got $6.6 million for a “state-of-the-art childcare center.”

McConnell is not running for reelection in 2026.

Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, lauded McConnell’s efforts in a news release.

“Senator McConnell’s latest achievements build on a career defined by results. Over decades of service, he has secured more than $60 billion in direct funding for Kentucky, transforming infrastructure, education, health care, and medical research across our state... Time and again, he has demonstrated that effective leadership means delivering for every corner of the Commonwealth and ensuring Kentucky’s voice is heard where it matters most” Osborne wrote.

Below is a list of all the projects included in the nearly $2.6 billion in appropriations McConnell’s office listed in a news release:

Agriculture ($11.35 million)

• $10 million for the University of Kentucky’s new Agricultural Research Service Building
• $1.35 million for hospital infrastructure improvements at Ohio County Hospital

Commerce, Justice and Science ($107.85 million)

• $70 million for the University of Louisville’s Center for Bioscience
• $35 million for the University of Kentucky’s Healthy Research Building #2
• $2.5 million to equip a new cybercrime training facility being developed in Madisonville
• $352,000 for the procurement of law enforcement equipment and technology at a new emergency operations center in Bowling Green

Defense ($1.67 billion)

• $903 million to fund the expansion of manufacturing capacity for energetics materials at the Blue Grass Army Depot
• $175 million to support Improved Turbine Engine Program test and integration efforts. Parts used in the Improved Turbine Engine Program are manufactured in Western Kentucky
• $130 million to improve facilities, reinforce manufacturing capabilities, and strengthen the workforce that supports Columbia and Virginia-class submarine shipbuilding in the Louisville region
• $71.47 million to fund the procurement of additional SeaRAM Ship Defense Systems, which are produced in the Louisville region
• $70.14 million to fund the procurement of six additional Land-based Phalanx Weapon Systems, which are produced in the Louisville region
• $59.96 million to invest in energetics manufacturing capability resiliency at BGAD
• $50 million the procurement of additional Ultra-Lightweight Camouflage Net System multi-spectral camouflage nets critical to the survival of U.S. forces on the modern battlefield, which are produced in Southeastern Kentucky
• $50 million to support research efforts to enhance the F-15EX fighter’s engines. This research will support future engine part manufacturing work in Western Kentucky
• $20 million to support the Army’s continued development of advanced materials and additive manufacturing techniques in partnership with the University of Kentucky
• $16 million to support the establishment of new Defense Innovation Unit OnRamp defense-technology gateways, including at the University of Louisville
• $15 million to replace aging machinery with modern tools and control systems to ensure reliable production of critical Mk45 5-inch guns used by the Navy to defend ships and sailors. Mk45 guns are produced in the Louisville region
• $12 million to support the National Security Agency’s cyber workforce training partnership in cooperation with UofL and other universities
• $11.2 million to fund the lease of a subterranean training facility in the Louisville region
• $10 million to support Field Containerized Kitchen service life extension work in Southeastern Kentucky
• $10 million for the Army to procure modernized drone technology under Phase II of the Soldier Borne Sensor program. Drones of the Soldier Borne Sensor program are repaired and maintained in Southeastern Kentucky
• $10 million to support the Air Force’s expansion of the Generating Rural Innovation for National Defense program to additional states, including Kentucky
• $9.5 million to fund further development of a cooperative spacecraft payload developed in partnership with Morehead State University in Eastern Kentucky to increase the responsiveness, effectiveness, and resilience of Integrated Air and Missile Defense platforms
• $9 million to support submarine stealth technology research at the University of Kentucky
• $8.5 million for Army Mobile ULCANS Research, which will fund further research into advanced camouflage nets for Army combat vehicles. This research will support future manufacturing work in Southeastern Kentucky
• $8 million to construct a new gas line to serve Fort Knox’s energy needs
• $7.5 million to continue the Army’s development of next-generation vehicle armor, part of which will take place in the Louisville region
• $6.12 million to support the testing of carbon fiber utility tanks in South Central Kentucky for use in Forward Aerial Refueling Points by the Army
• $3.2 million to fund the construction of a new raw water line at BGAD
• $2.5 million to upgrade Fort Knox’s railhead facilities that support the installation’s role as a Mobilization Force Generation Installation
• $2.5 million to fund research into warfighter molecular and cellular health at UofL
• $1.875 million to furnish a Kentucky National Guard Vehicle Maintenance Shop in Northern Kentucky
• $1 million to support ground-breaking research efforts at BGAD to develop new remote sensing techniques for surveillance at defense facilities

Energy & Water ($402.88 million)

• $340 million to fund decommissioning, decontamination, and environmental remediation at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
• $41 million for construction of a new program support facility at PGDP to replace aging administrative buildings. The facility will also support next-generation manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and advanced technologies expected to arrive at PGDP in the coming years
• $21.281 million to fully fund the remaining work on the Rough River Dam Safety Modification Project, ensuring the integrity of Rough River Lake for decades to come
• $600,000 to continue an erosion study along the Mississippi River at Columbus-Belmont State Park

Interior and Environment ($29.84 million)

• $9.256 million for water treatment plant improvements in Edmonson County
• $7.45 million for capital improvements at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area
• $7.334 million for water treatment plant construction in Albany
• $4.8 million for wastewater treatment plant improvements in Martin County
• $1 million for visitor center improvements at Green River National Wildlife Refuge

Labor, Health and Human Services and Education ($70.03 million)

• $30 million for construction and equipment procurement at the University of Kentucky’s Healthy Kentucky Research Building #2
• $29.826 million for construction and equipment procurement at the University of Louisville’s Kentucky Center for Precision Medicine
• $3 million for Campbellsville University to establish graduate degree programs through a new College of Mental Health
• $2.7 million for Life Learning Center to address the substance abuse and opioid epidemic
• $2 million for Madisonville Community College to acquire propeller planes and helicopters for a growing student aviation program
• $1.5 million to develop a treatment facility for children with autism spectrum disorders in Whitesburg
• $1 million for Home of the Innocents in Louisville to support expansion of the Kids Complex Care Center

Military Construction ($147 million)

• $50 million to demolish legacy aircraft hangars at Fort Knox
• $45 million to replace the air traffic control tower at Fort Campbell Army Airfield
• $27 million to fund planning and design for a new military container production facility at Blue Grass Army Depot that would complement existing operations at the site and meet a national need for domestically produced shipping containers
• $11 million to fund planning and design for a new modernized hangar at Fort Campbell Army Airfield
• $8 million to construct a vehicle access road with larger clearances that can accommodate emergency vehicles and heavy equipment at Fort Knox
• $4.5 million to fund planning and design for two new dining facilities at Fort Knox
• $1.5 million to fund planning and design for a new Kentucky Army National Guard readiness center and vehicle maintenance shop

Transportation and Housing and Urban Development ($117.4 million)

• $20 million to construct a new agriculture exposition center in Barren County
• $20 million to conduct preliminary engineering and design for the widening of 55 miles of Hal Rogers Parkway
• $11 million for economic revitalization in McCreary County
• $10 million for supporting activities to construct I-69 ORX, the new interstate crossing over the Ohio River in Henderson
• $9.6 million for construction of a new Federal Inspection Service facility to support international passenger flights at Louisville International Airport
• $9 million for land acquisition and design work for a new runway at Elizabethtown Regional Airport
• $7.5 million for reconstruction of Taxiway M, the access point for Runway 9/27, the primary and preferred night-use runway at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport
• $7 million for Louisville Metro Government to redevelop crumbling infrastructure at the Belvedere
• $6.6 million to build a state-of-the-art childcare center in Owensboro
• $5.4 million for enabling projects to support construction of a new air traffic control tower at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington
• $4.5 million for Covington to construct a pedestrian-friendly connector for the new mixed-use business district at the site of the former IRS facility
• $3.1 million for Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah to rehabilitate lighting on Runway 14/32
• $2 million to rehabilitate and reconstruct apron that serves all 21 gates at Concourse A at CVG
• $1.45 million for construction of an access road at an emerging business park in Somerset
• $250,000 for a study to reorient the runway at Elizabethtown Regional Airport

Austin Horn

Lexington Herald-Leader

706-571-8597

Austin Horn is a politics reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He previously worked for the Frankfort State Journal and National Public Radio. Horn has roots in both Woodford and Martin Counties.